Epidemiology and etiology of non-Hodgkin lymphoma - a review

The etiology of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, as well as its global dramatic rise in incidence during the past decades, remains largely unexplained. However, there is increasing awareness that this group of malignancies may entail not only clinical, morphological and molecular heterogeneity, but also consid...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Acta oncologica 2006, Vol.45 (3), p.258-271
Main Author: Ekström-Smedby, Karin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Case-Control Studies
Denmark - epidemiology
Humans
Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin - classification
Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin - diagnosis
Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin - epidemiology
Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin - etiology
Sweden - epidemiology
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Summary:The etiology of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, as well as its global dramatic rise in incidence during the past decades, remains largely unexplained. However, there is increasing awareness that this group of malignancies may entail not only clinical, morphological and molecular heterogeneity, but also considerable variations in terms of etiologic factors. In this review, epidemiologic patterns are summarized as well as current evidence of associations between various known or suspected risk factors for non-Hodgkin lymphoma overall or for any of its subtypes. Central pathogenetic mechanisms include immunosuppression, especially in relation to T-cell function and loss of control of latent EBV infection, and chronic antigen stimulation. Some degree of familiar aggregation also implies a role for genetic susceptibility. A number of recent investigations of non-Hodgkin lymphoma etiology will hopefully lead to a better understanding of the causes of these malignancies.
ISSN:0284-186X
1651-226X
DOI:10.1080/02841860500531682